Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was designated by Congress in 1970 to protect the wonderful dunes and historic towns on the Lake Michigan shoreline between the towns of Frankfort and Glen Arbor. This region of Michigan is an absolutely beautiful stretch, with remarkable landscapes perched high over the magnificent lake. The park gets its name from an old Ashininaabek Indian story about a mother bear and her two cubs who were starving in Wisconsin and set out to swim across Lake Michigan. The way was long and the two cubs couldn’t make it. They went under and returned to the surface as the Manitou Islands. The mother bear barely made it and climbed up the dunes and turned into a dune herself, forever perched on high looking out at her two lost cubs. The scenic drive will take you to some of the best lookouts in the park including a view of the Sleeping Bear Dune, while two campgrounds allow for wonderful overnight adventures. The old town of Glen Haven tells the story of logging and industry in the area as well as early tourism. The park also covers North and South Manitou Islands, two beautiful islands an hour offshore. I had the pleasure of spending two nights on South Manitou Island and it was one of the top highlights of my whole two month visit to Michigan. The island is basically uninhabited save for a few rangers and a small handful of others, but toads, chipmunks and snakes abound. You can even find a grove of ancient cedar trees in the interior of the island. With the deepest natural harbor between Chicago and Buffalo on the Great Lakes though, South Manitou Island was once a busy place, and some of the old buildings around the island are very well maintained. I loved the old homesteads, the cemeteries and, of course, the lighthouse. In 1970, the ship Francisco Morazon ran aground off of the south shore of the island and while the crew was saved the boat still rests were it hit and is visible above the waterline. While the island is designated wilderness and camping is the only overnight option, you can visit the islands as day trips as well and tours are offered. I had a wonderful stay in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and highly recommend it if you are in this part of Michigan. I hope you enjoy these photos from my visit to Sleeping Bear Dunes and South Manitou Island.
